Mark Ladbrook v Australian Athletics

Mark Ladbrook (the Applicant) is an accredited coach and a member of Australian Athletics (the Respondent).

The Respondent is the National Sporting Organisation responsible for the administration and governance of athletics in Australia.

On 18 March 2025, the Applicant lodged an application with the National Sports Tribunal (the NST), which was validated on 21 March 2025. 

The application concerned the Respondent’s decision, following its internal investigation into complaints made by the Complainant, to permanently revoke the Applicant’s coaching accreditation in response to finding that the Applicant had breached its Code of Conduct (the Code). 

Multiple breaches of the Code were alleged to have occurred between 2019 and 2023, during which time the Applicant was coaching, in an officially accredited capacity, a squad of athletics athletes including the Complainant. 

The application proceeded by way of a de novo arbitration before a single NST Member to determine whether the complaints were substantiated, and if so, subsequent sanctions. The NST Member considered voluminous submissions and evidence from the parties, including numerous witness statements and oral evidence, across multiple sitting hearing days. 

The NST Member determined the arbitration on 10 March 2026, finding that three complaints made against the Applicant breached the Code. 

In response, the NST Member determined the appropriate sanction of suspending the Applicant’s Australian Athletics coaching accreditation until 13 February 2029, subject to preliminary requirements being met.